ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a tiered family-school partnering (FSP) framework with a central focus on student school success. An important shift has occurred since the mid-1990s that coincided with and contributed to the development of our FSP framework. In a tiered FSP framework, processes and practices differ based on resources and need. When FSP foundational beliefs are explicitly stated and simply framed, they combine with legal mandates and research findings to guide everyday practice. The core substance of FSP that permeates and links all tiers is student school success. Student school success is a multidimensional concept best understood if explicitly formulated as measurable outcomes. Successful implementation is enhanced when families and educators understand the rationale for the shift to FSP. To strengthen the evidence base on effective FSP, Raines has stressed that all professionals must become intervention researchers who appraise and evaluate any new initiative by collecting meaningful effectiveness data.
